Breathing apparatus such as tracheal and endotracheal tubes and oxygen masks are frequently used to facilitate the breathing or persons in distress. In such cases it is important to be able to monitor the breathing during exhaling and inhaling including monitoring the breathing rate and the composition of the breath to know if the person is receiving sufficient breath, to know if the breath rate, i.e. number of breaths per minute is being maintained or if the breathing rate during inhaling and during exhaling should fall below some minimum safe rate and to know that the person is receiving an accepted rate of oxygen. It is also important for the doctor or nurse to be able to establish minimum breathing conditions for each patient taking into account the patient's history and physical condition, and it is important to be able to reassess a breathing rate from time-to-time to take into account different factors such as the patient's ability to use free oxygen in the air the patient is breathing. The present device has these and other capabilities and also includes means which enable a doctor or nurse to be continuously made aware at the bedside or at a remote location of the patient's breathing and changes in breathing and it enables periodic adjustment of the monitored conditions to take into account changes that occur. The present device also includes means to produce an alarm if the breathing rate deteriorates below some preestablished condition and this can be adjusted taking into account the condition of the patient. The present device is therefore a very sensitive and versatile monitor which is relatively easy to adjust and use.
The present device is useful in monitoring various breathing conditions of patients such as apnia in which the patient ceases to breath, the breath rate of the patient, and cachypneic in which the patient begins to breath too rapidly. The monitoring of the breathing conditions is particularly useful in the treatment of various conditions and diseases such as emphysema, stroke, drug overdose, sleep apnia in children and pulmonary embolus.
It is therefore a principal object of the present invention to provide accurate adjustable means for monitoring the breath, breath rate and breath composition and especially of persons equipped with breathing apparatus such as tracheal tubes.
Another object is to be able to continuously and selectively monitor the exhaling and inhaling of a person.
Another object is to provide a breathing monitor instrument especially for use in hospitals and other places where the vital functions are monitored.
Another object is to provide a breathing monitor instrument for monitoring the breath, breath rate and breath composition at a location remote from the patient being monitored.
Another object is to increase the information that is available about persons who have breathing difficulties.
Another object is to provide a relatively inexpensive yet highly reliable breath monitoring device which can be used to monitor the breathing of persons whose normal breathing function may be inpaired or obstructed for some reason.
Another object is to provide means for monitoring the breathing functions which can be adjusted to establish desired minimum safe breathing rate conditions, and to produce an alarm under conditions that can be selected and adjusted as desired.
Another object is to establish separate minimum conditions and criteria for inhaling and exhaling to produce alarm conditions.
Another object is to establish a predetermined delay period before an alarm will be produced to indicate that a particular condition of a persons' breathing represents a danger.
Another object is to provide a breath monitor of the breath.
Another object is to provide a device capable of separately monitoring the chemical composition and breathing rate during inhaling and exhaling.
Another object is to provide a breath monitoring device that can operate compatibly with other devices used to assist the breathing.
Another object is to provide a breath monitoring device that provides a warning if the breath sensor element becomes disconnected or fails in either the shorted or open condition.